The future came to Shanghai early. And never left. That’s Lujiazui, the financial district on the Pudong side of the Huangpu River.
Everything there is vertical, polished, and surprisingly walkable, with glass supertalls clustered around the Oriental Pearl Tower. A place this built-up should be hostile to pedestrians, right? But Lujiazui has an elevated circular walkway that let you stroll between malls and metro stations without ever crossing traffic at ground level.
Here’s a practical walking guide to the area: the skywalks, the riverside promenade, and those little patches of green that interrupt all that glass and steel. Lots of photo ops here, particularly around sunset, and expect crowds on weekend afternoons.
How to Walk Around Lujiazui
Lujiazui
The second you emerge from the metro, Lujiazui announces itself. On every side, towers goes shooting upwards, and it’s really disorienting until you manage to get your bearings. That elevated walkway system looping around the entire district make for a surprisingly good pedestrian experience here.
The true success of architecture/infrastructure here, though, is the circular skywalk. At each turn, you get an unobstructed view of the Oriental Pearl Tower, and the skywalk connects office lobbies and shopping centres as it loops and curves over the traffic. Look down at its underside: it’s quite sculptural, with sweeping concrete curves framing the gardens below.
In the early mornings, you’ll find people running along it.
The reflections on the glass facades never stop when there’s a clear day. From some angles you can get a shot of all three towers… The Shanghai World Financial Centre, Jin Mao, and Shanghai Tower.
Framed together.
The walkway stay busy most hours, which actualy makes it feel safer and more pleasant than an empty elevated path would. Every sightline here is defined by the Oriental Pearl. In some spots, its lower sphere is so close that you’re walking right beneath it.
It’s from the 1990s. It looks a little old now compared to the newer supertalls, but it’s still the thing everyone uses as a landmark.
Near one of the shopping complexes is a clock tower that look oddly modest when placed beside all this.
It’s a handy meeting place.
There’s no shortage of signs either, pointing you toward important buildings and metro lines. Ground-level plazas feature temporary exhibits (sometimes seasonal) but can be a little too corporate/staged for comfort. That said, the plazas give you a reason to come down off the walkway every once in a while.
From there, stairs descend to the riverside path. This is when Lujiazui transitions from vertical to horizontal, and everything open up. For the best view of the Bund, head to the promenade that runs alongside the Huangpu River.
It’s packed on the weekend with tourists, kite-flying kids, and families out for a stroll.
The path is wide and well maintained, with benches at regular intervals. Ahead, the heritage buildings of the Bund rise firmly from the river, while behind you, the Lujiazui towers loom large over everything. What makes this place worthwhile is the contrast.
This is a long riverside that you can walk along uninterrupted. There are benches facing the river, with office workers looking at the water while they eat their lunches here on weekday afternoons. It’s one of the only relaxing spots in Lujiazui.
Near the water is the International Conference Center, with its signature spheres. Tour boats and ferries constantly chug up and down the river. Here the Huangpu bends, so you have wide, sweeping views in both directions.
You can stand right under the Oriental Pearl for a dizzying view straight up through its legs into the lower sphere. Expect to wait your turn, as it’s a popular photo spot.
Lujiazui Pedestrian Bridge
The pedestrian bridge itself deserves special mention because it’s the thread that ties the whole district together. It twists and turns and branches off into other parts, connected by staircases and ramps. There are glass-walled enclosures and areas that are simply exposed to the air.
Others span across boulevards and provide long views down below to the street, as well as straight into the entrance of some buildings. From up here, it’s surprising how green the neighborhood actualy is: there are rows and rows of trees running along each road.
These allow you to get up there and cover an impressive amount of territory without ever setting foot on the ground below. The roundabout below is filled in with flowerbeds, kept to just the level of perfection possible with a municipal budget. It is geometric and slightly too-perfect from overhead, but it breaks up the hardscape.
You get a good view down into the gardens surrounding the traffic circle from the bridge.
Everywhere else are glass towers. You’re not craning your neck to look at the top of most buildings. Instead, you are looking at the middle floors.
The bridge level is typically around five or six storeys up. It creates an immersive experience that you don’t get when just walking around at ground level.
The number of people ebbs and flows throughout the day. During lunch hours and in the evenings there’s a stream of office workers rushing to get food or coffee; on weekends you’ll find families and tourists. There are always people with shopping bags or takeaway coffee from one of the malls that connect directly to the bridge.
As you loop around, there the Oriental Pearl is again and again. You’re at eye level with the lower sphere from the bridge; now you can see the shape of the thing. You can see how the spheres is stacked, how they’re held together by that lattice of supports, and the central spire shooting up through the middle.
Engineering is on display.
From below, the spiral of Shanghai Tower is best appreciated. From a distance, the way the glass front twists as it rises is subtle. But stand at its base and look up, and it becomes obvious.
A vertical garden grows up one of the support pillars. Vegetation climbs the concrete. It’s a little thing, but against an environment as engineered as this, it stands out.
The greenery doesn’t try too hard to soften the structure but does just enough to make it a bit more pleasant.
On the bridge level is a Starbucks that does a steady business with people taking a break between buildings. It is handy if you need someplace to sit down for ten minutes or a restroom.
Up close, the planted columns are detailed; different species is layered in sections. And above them, the supertalls keep climbing. When you look up, canopy sections of the bridge frame Shanghai Tower, creating natural sightlines.
At some intersections, the bridge expands into an open deck that becomes a place for visitors to rest, look at their phone/camera, and maybe even snap a photo.
It gets crowded here, particularly if there are tour groups stopping. At one end, the bridge links up with the IFC mall; it merges directly onto the upper levels of the shopping center.
From the bridge, you gaze downward on the chaos that keeps you off the streets, delivery trucks, buses, taxis vying for space. Below is the entrance to the IFC mall, which is typically packed with people coming and going.
But the bridge shines at dusk. The towers light up, the crowd thins a bit, and it cools off just enough for walking to be pleasant. You’ll find yourself on a well-lit walkway, with evening strollers (and joggers) completing the circuit.
Plazas on ground level are reached by staircases, with increasingly elaborate landscaping. Between the buildings are little parks with clipped shrubbery and paved pathways. If it’s rained recently, the wet stone reflects the lights from the towers above.
At night, the IFC plaza comes alive, with tiny bulbs strung in the trees and the pavement illuminated beneath you. It is calculated but effective, and nice enough on a warm evening that you can linger awhile before returning to the metro. Despite being a financial district, Lujiazui is actualy one of those places that rewards slow exploration more than you might think.
There’s plenty to see, and thanks to the walkways you can get around the entire place within an hour or two without ever feeling like you’ve crossed into traffic. If possible, go at dusk. When the towers become too much, you can always take a break along the riverside stretch.
Have you been to Lujiazui, or do you plan to go? How do you feel about the newer parts of Shanghai compared to the old neighbourhoods?
